Sir Jim Ratcliffe pumps another £79m into Man United to increase his stake in the club – but here’s why the huge cash injection will NOT benefit Ruben Amorim in the January window

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has injected a further £79million into Manchester United, increased his stake in the club and changed ownership of his involvement to his Ineos company.

The petrochemicals billionaire paid around £1.2bn for 27.7 per cent of the club earlier this year and agreed to invest $300m (£237m) as part of the deal.

A filing listed on the US Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed the final payment of $100m (£79m) and a raise in shareholding to 28.94 per cent. It has also disclosed that ownership of those shares has transferred from Ratcliffe to Ineos.

Mail Sport understands that the £79m is not earmarked to go into a January war chest for new manager Ruben Amorim.

The investment had been earmarked for infrastructure but will be used across the club.

Ineos have carried out a wide range of cost-cutting since their arrival, which will allow the injection to go to areas of need, rather than be swallowed by costs.

It is also understood that when the deal was struck with majority owners the Glazer family, it was more straightforward for Ratcliffe’s name to go on the shares, given that his money was used.

However, all of his other clubs and sports groups go under the Ineos umbrella and his part-ownership of United will now join that stable.

Ratcliffe has overseen a chaotic spell at Old Trafford since arriving at the club 12 months ago, despite watching Manchester United lift the FA Cup under Erik ten Hag at the end of last campaign.

The Red Devils, who were weighing up the Dutchman’s future ahead of their Wembley final, extended Ten Hag’s contract before sacking him four months later following a dismal start to the new Premier League season.

Ratcliffe gave Ten Hag more than £200million to spend in the summer transfer market before parting ways with him in October, shelling out £15m in compensation. 

He also prized Dan Ashworth away from Newcastle as sporting director before he made the decision to dispense with his services last week after only a few months in the role.

The 72-year-old has similarly made a string of unpopular decisions, such as a mid-season move to raise matchday ticket prices to £66 per game – with no concessions for children or pensioners – while more than 250 club staff have been made redundant.

Manchester United and Liverpool fans are reportedly set to come together to protest rising ticket prices when the bitter rivals face off in the Premier League next month.

Supporters of both clubs are believed to be planning demonstrations during the clash at Anfield on January 5, having each already campaigned against ticket hikes this month.

United fans displayed a ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ banner during their Premier League match with Everton on December 1, with Toffees supporters joining forces to protest the increase as well.

Amorim was brought as Ten Hag’s permanent successor in November after interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy oversaw a fruitful and brief spell in charge — and most recently triumphed 2-1 in Sunday’s Manchester derby thanks to a late turnaround inspired by Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo.

The Red Devils, who face Tottenham in the Carabao Cup quarter finals on Thursday night, are still languishing in 13th place in the Premier League table with six wins, four draws and six defeats to their name after 16 matches. 

Marcus Rashford has been left out of Amorim’s squad to face Spurs after admitting in a bombshell interview on Tuesday that he plans to leave Manchester United for a ‘new challenge’.

The United striker, who made his first-team debut in 2016, claimed that it was a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ regarding his departure when speaking to journalist Henry Winter.

Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, who will return against Tottenham, were both omitted from the Red Devils squad against Manchester City on Sunday. 

The former England international has scored just four times in 15 Premier League appearances this campaign, while only assisting once.

Amorim has since claimed that he wants Rashford to stay at the club, despite dropping him from the squad for the club’s dramatic win over Manchester City.

Nevertheless, the Portuguese coach wanted the forward to speak to him first before speaking out about his future to the public.

‘If this was me, probably I would speak with the manager, but let’s focus on Tottenham,’ said Amorim.

‘It’s hard to explain to you guys what I am going to do. I’m a little bit emotional so in the moment I will decide what to do.’

A huge task facing Ratcliffe and his fellow United owners will be how to deal with the Rashford situation in January, given the forward has publicly revealed his plans to leave Old Trafford. 

Mail Sport exclusively revealed how the club would countenance offers of £40m for the forward in January, despite the £325,000 per week star being worth as much as £100m a few years ago.